The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) has revamped its popular weekly lottery with subscribers new and old promised bigger prizes, easier game play and a new syndicate option for workplaces and social groups.
The charity hopes the changes will attract even more players to its lottery, which brings in around £1m a year, roughly a quarter of the air ambulance’s annual running costs.
The total prize fund has been raised from £1,000 a week to £1,500 a week, with a £500 top prize now available every week. As well as the jackpot, there are ten prizes of £50 and fifty prizes of £10. Entry remains just 50p a week per play.
Unlike many other charities, GNAAS runs its lottery in-house, which means 100 per cent of the profits are pumped back into the service. Since it started, the lottery has raised around £10m for the charity.
Mandy Drake, head of fundraising, said: “For the first time in the lottery’s history we have made changes to the game which we hope will attract even more people to play. This in turn will lead to even more money being raised for the air ambulance.
“The lottery is such a quick, easy and rewarding way of supporting this local cause. Players can sign up knowing that their money is making a life-saving difference in the community, while giving them a chance at winning up to £500 every week.”
The new syndicate option is open to groups of two or more players. Syndicates can buy any amount of weekly entries for 50p each.
Mrs Drake said: “Some of the businesses which support the charity have been eager to get involved too. We’ve set up an area of the website where groups of friends, family or colleagues can sign up and play collectively. The more entries they make, the more chances they have of winning.”
Syndicate packs are available online or through the post.
More information on joining the GNAAS Lottery, please visit gnaas.com/lottery or call 0800-1777-035.